The long-anticipated successor to the Mazda RX-8 has finally arrived. The big reveal was made at the Tokyo Auto Show a few weeks after Mazda released a dimly-lit silhouette rendering to pique the world’s interest. Thankfully, as the “RX” nameplate suggests, there wasn’t a piston in sight. Worried about boost? Mazda’s head of research and development, Kiyoshi Fujiwara, has revealed the company’s plan to include a turbocharger to not only improve fuel economy, but performance as well. It seems, at last, that the rotary engine will finally be reunited with the forced induction it so desperately needed in the previous generation.
The design, although clearly an over the top concept, is a sort of pleasing FD3S RX-7, F-Type, Vanquish mash-up. Assuming the vehicle makes it to production, you can obviously expect to see smaller wheels, a shorter hood and slightly modified roof lines.
The car’s price tag seems to be the largest gray area of all. Will Mazda attempt to compete with Porsche and the other big boys as they did with the RX7, or will it aim to outsell popular, more affordable cars like the Subaru BRZ and Nissan 370Z?
Either way, the turbo rotary has made it’s return, and enthusiasts couldn’t be more thrilled.
